All Croaked Up

Little Bit enjoys running around our couch, and he usually forces us to join in by grabbing our legs and pointing until we take off. This evening he was mixing it up by occasionally stopping, doing his version of a jump (he's not quite off the ground yet) and giving a high-pitched "ribbit." 

We've always compared him to a frog. When he was small, he would snuggle into sleep in a frog-like position against us, and he still sleeps with his bottom in the air. So his first birthday was frog themed. We had frog soaps as favors and an adorable cake with frogs all over it. I also spent many an evening folding origami frogs to decorate with, from this pattern on one of my favorite sites: 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jacquedavis/3051222260/in/set-72157605609557222

(The artist also does some amazing embroidery.) So many frogs, my husband compared it to the biblical plague. 

This birthday has an ABC theme, since Little Bit loves working with the letters. I have some teacher's borders and some coloring pages for the party this weekend, and I'm decorating with flash cards. Can't wait!

Sense enough to be lazy

I ended the day being quite lazy despite my ambitious dinner of "Every Vegetable in the Fridge that Needed to Go" pasta. Little Bit enjoyed it, went from a saucy dinner to a long bath, then had fun avoiding his after-bath diapering by streaking laps around the couch.

After he went to bed, I found myself strangely mesmerized by "Top Gear" on Netflix. Very relaxing, the cars driving through the British countryside, the sun shining on their hoods. I would not know the show existed without my husband, and today, it was a nice nightcap. 

Subconscious inspiration

It was hard to get back to work today, but responsibility bested the snooze button. I had a good day of catching up and returning calls, then back home to my new painting projects. Since receiving my etsy shipment of wooden dolls over the weekend, I've been painting angels and superwomen. 

Some of them look more "Mardi Gras."

Christmas coming up inspired the angels; not sure what prompted the heroines. With all the festivities coming up, I guess I need one and need to be the other. 

Scribbling away

I was fairly efficient today. I'm not any closer to getting the Christmas tree out of the attic, but we now have things to wear! We're waiting to finish the bathroom renovation before beginning the holiday decorations, and it's been easy to let things accumulate around the house since it's cluttered anyway. 

I took Little Bit on a trip to Office Max today to get some new place mats done.

His babysitter sent the pictures home with him as some of his best work, and I have to agree. He's recently gone from spirals to squared shapes, and I'm a fan of his new period. It's much better than his forays into crayon on marble. 

He even colored the "Little Prince" picture frame. Should I have seen this coming?

Thankfulness and pie

Little Bit is thankful for the truck he got this year for his birthday. Why is it that he ignores me but loves it when a creepy truck talks to him? 

And I don't think I'm in charge.

We spent a very nice Thanksgiving with my husband's parents. They took us to the Montgomery City Zoo, which was a great time. He loved the train that went around the zoo's parameter. His face screwed into a cry just as the wheels stopped turning, but it was quickly dispelled by the giraffes, who ate hay out of Grandma's hands. He was amazed. 

I named this one "Patches."

I ate too much, walked a little, and enjoyed some time reading some magazines that had been sitting on the table too long. We made the trip back today with a cooler filled with Thankgiving treats- we're ready to start the week!

Birthday 2.2

Little Bit is having a great week without really knowing why. We had dinner with his aunt, uncle, and cousin yesterday, and he had the best time playing with his cousin, her toys, and their golden retriever. He tested his spatial skills as he tried to get into a doll house feet-first, and he flung himself with abandon onto an exercise ball like it was an olympic sport. And I've never seen a golden retriever try to distance itself from a child; he was gregarious, to say the least.

I was very excited to complete a Pinterest experiment this morning- s'more treats.

While certainly not as good-looking as their inspiration, they were delicious, and so easy. I just spread marshmallow creme between graham crackers, then dipped them in microwaved chocolate chips and set the chocolate in the fridge. I hope his daycare enjoyed them, too!

Tonight, we continued the tradition we started on Bitty's first birthday of going to the Krispy Kreme by Baptist Hospital for doughnuts. It seems that the shop is perfectly placed for the pregnant women driving by for classes; that certainly was the case for me. Little Bit is turned around in his car seat now, and he enjoyed the lights as we drove. It was a nice trip.

Casting on

I am in love with my new knitting looms! How much? 

This much!

I can't believe I knitted something cute in under two hours. Little Bit is not nearly as impressed as I am with the fact that he can now outfit his stuffed animals. But he's still cute. 

I guess. 

Warm and fuzzy

I had a good day yesterday with my parents, siblings, and brother-in-law. We were kicked out of our house early so the bathroom could get a coat of grout, so we made the trek to Cookeville. IHOP for lunch was a lot of fun, and Colin had a great time riding the gator with Grandpa out on the trails.

I also finished an easy fleece tie blanket I'd been working on.

And no, I'm not trying to convey any message with this print.

If you want to try it, you'll need a table top or floor space to pin the fabric together and cut the fringe. Otherwise, it can be tied anywhere, but it's bulky to carry. I found the instructions on this website:

http://www.allkindsofbabystuff.com/no_sew_fleece_blankets.html

And in a pinch, Vendian has printable rulers!

http://www.vendian.org/mncharity/dir3/paper_rulers/

It looks great, even with the uneven cuts. 

"Personally I'm always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught." -Churchill

I stopped to fill up my car in Murfreesboro this morning on my way to work. I was the only car at the pumps, so I was surprised when an elderly man appeared next to me and asked if I was a single parent. I said, "No; have you been talking to my husband?" He laughed, explained that he had a magazine he was handing out for single parents, and gave me one anyway. I hope his future encounters are friendly- maybe that's why he picked Friday morning for his religious pamphlet trek.

I am much friendlier since I got my knitting loom, as I'm almost finished with my test run, baby-sized hat! I'm guessing it will end up on Tuck from the Wonder Pets, since it's in a scratchy white practice yarn. I love the speed I have on the loom; after ten minutes, I could see an inch of hat gathering in the middle of the circle. Are matching Fall hats and scarves in the family's future?

Birthday 2.1

It's almost Little Bit's second birthday! I took his party to daycare today, and although the brownies stuck to the bottom of the pan and were about 1/2 inch thick, I did pretty well on the party favors. 

One day we'll get to the "cupcakes for thirty" school birthday. Since it was feasible, I painted each of his little friends in miniature and put them with some of their favorite toys. The one of the left is holding a Harry Potter book. I have a hard enough time drawing faces on two-inch figurines; putting a tiny boy wizard on the book's cover was out of the question. But I hope they love them! I can't wait to hear what my little redhead thought of his mini-me.

And if they hated it, there's candy too. 

Using the Force

Little Bit started his day right in his new Darth Vader t-shirt and cape. He got so excited when he saw his new (to him) track for his cars to run at Grandma and Grandpa's- no wonder I love making him things! The latest is a Hobby Lobby mail box, painted with his name and our house number. He loves to hear the Blue's Clues mail song and check the box for letters.

Grandma and Grandpa missed a great opportunity this weekend. While we were at the mall, one of the stands had a Yo Gabba Gabba Brobee knitted hat in adult size (I thought the little guy's name was "Grobee" until I looked up how to spell it). I stated that the hat would be a hit with Bitty, but it had no takers.

While Bitty's been rolling trucks and trains, my husband and I looked at materials for the bathroom remodel and ran errands. We also got the chance to watch a two-hour movie tonight! Although we go back to work tomorrow, we picked "The Lincoln Lawyer." It was pretty entertaining, but some scenes made me feel like I was at work. Legal dramas may be ruined for me. 

Back to reality

I'm back after a great weekend Christmas shopping with my mom and sister! We stayed in Cool Springs two nights and hit that mall hard, but we also got to Opry Mills with Little Bit to give my husband a chance to run some Saturday errands. I forgot my stroller, so we rented the one that looked like a red race car. He loved the steering wheel and probably endured it much longer than he would have his usual transportation.

I think the race car put Bitty in the mood to run. The Reebok store had blue lines imprinted into the floor to make two running lanes on a small track, and Bitty would wait for a "Ready, set, GO!"to start charging down the track. He started in one lane for a lap, then made another lap waddling with a foot in each. Then kept going. As the day progressed, he began races on the edges of the halls, where the tiles are different accent colors. He announced his own starts and began crouching before taking off.

The Cool Springs Santa was out and had few lines. Going to try the pic earlier this year to avoid this:

That Santa is a true professional.

Got back and settled, then we all suited up in light jackets and took advantage of the fading light. Little Bit and the puppy are good playmates now, and he enjoyed watching her play in the leaves. I made grilled cheese for dinner, and Bitty ate his pear quite artistically. Admittedly, I'm biased.

My son is a rainbow, and so is his room.

I'm feeling productive this evening, although I somehow messed up Annie's Mac and Cheese for dinner (still good, even with little orange cheese balls). I've gotten some laundry done, set up some crafts to dry, and hopped like a frog with Little Bit. I was reasonably successful overseeing his coloring, but we're going to have to invest more in Magic Erasers. 

So excited to start shopping in earnest with my sister and mother this weekend! I'm getting into the spirit! I've also put a 25% off coupon in my Etsy shop, in case any of my listings could help someone else feel festive.

Bitty's choice: DJ Lance Rock

Just got word that my knitting loom has shipped! I'm not giving up, even though my crochet and knitting has been dismal. Speaking of dismal, surely this story, about a Chinese man divorcing and suing his wife over their baby's appearance, is a hoax:

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/10/29/chinese-man-divorces-ugly-wife_n_2037141.html

Surely. I can't imagine anyone being so shallow.

The election has been consuming our household today, much to Little Bit's chagrin. There was much weeping when "Yo Gabba Gabba" was replaced by PBS News Hour. I noted that Gwen Ifill and my husband share similar tastes in eyewear. No matter what side you favored, the pictures at the following link are pretty funny. They are a nice reminder that both contenders were brave to go into the fray.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/11/06/us-presidential-election-funny-pictures_n_2082082.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular#slide=1723633

My technique needs practice

Back when I was painting Invisi-bear, I snapped this picture of Little Bit:

He had come in to see what I was doing, and I thought it would be adorable if he worked on the painting, too. He was wearing good clothes, so I put a drop cloth over his shorts and took his shirt off. He began the project seriously, keeping the brush on the canvas. However, the newspaper underneath began to get a coat of paint, then the table.

So I took his brush, wiped him off, and started to take him down the hall to the bathroom for further rinsing. He wanted to continue his masterpiece, so he whined and flopped stomach-first into the floor. As I was trying to wrangle him, my husband walked through and stopped to watch. He noted that it looked like a scene from "Cops," with a shirtless, face-down perpetrator.

Sharing Smarties (maybe you had to be there)

My son does not yet share my love of Smarties. I gave him one out of my roll; he put it in his mouth and pondered it awhile. He took it out, and, as food was around, the dog was standing in front of him plaintively.

He gave it to the dog, who thought for far less time before dropping the Smartie to the floor. So Little Bit picked it up, looked at it, and tried to force-feed it to me. I guess I should be glad he inspected it beforehand. 

My wild birthday

After a bench trial yesterday, I celebrated my birthday at Chuy's with the guys. I wasn't paying a lot of attention since I was  playing with Bitty and eating chips, so I ended up with the special - super spicy enchiladas blancas. Bitty and I colored the dog family on his placemat, and he broke all four crayons in the little box before we left. Each time he'd say, "Oh noooooo!" It was a lot of fun.

We got back home for some coffee and Halloween candy, and I started to come off that adrenaline built up at the trial. We played chase around the couch and colored some, then I hit the coffee during Little Bit's bath. He was still up at 10:00 PM when I told the husband I was going to take a fifteen minute nap- that lasted until morning.